The machines or parts of a plant with cascaded synchronous control might, for example, be a printing press, which generally has numerous printing units which are arranged in a cascaded fashion one after another. For their part, printing units of this type have several regulated motor-driven axles to transport a paper web, which is to be printed synchronously, through the numerous printing units. Here, the driven axles are not coupled with each other from a mechanical point of view, for example by means of a vertical shaft or toothed belt. The control and regulation of the driven axles is generally effected via a higher-level controller, on the basis of a guide value for the higher-level speed setting. From this guide value it is possible, for example, to derive appropriate conversion ratios, in the nature of a gearing. For the purpose of regulating the entire machine it is also possible to provide virtual axles which, in their turn, can provide a guide value for some of the axles. On the basis of the higher-level guide value it is possible in addition to specify speed differences, in the nature of a slippage, to enable various mechanical longitudinal tensions to be introduced into the paper web.
Alternatively, machines of this type may be a cellulose factory, a paper factory, a rolling mill or the like. The important point here is that several machine parts, arranged in a cascaded fashion one after another, are controlled in a synchronous running mode.
The control and regulation of the driven axles is preferably effected by so-called technological objects. These offer the user a technological view of the actuators and sensors, and make available technological functions for them. The technological objects are mainly software modules, which are executed in real time on a processor unit in the drive controller, such as for example on a drive controller of the SIMOTION type from Siemens. Via a relevant input interface and output interface, these can be parameterized for the applicable automation task. It is then possible in an engineering system, with the help of configuration tools, which are preferably graphical, to connect these technological objects in cascade.
However, in the case of a large complex project, with numerous connections, it becomes particularly difficult for a user to retain an “overview” of the complete project. In particular, it is difficult to determine the complete interconnection of movements and the overall flow of movement signals. This is so, for example, in the case of a diagnosis when the user is not familiar with the project.
A known solution to this problem is to have the object connections on the input side displayed in specific masks on the individual technological objects and/or to display linkages in a project navigator. In doing so, the known project navigators are, in their characteristic graphical appearance and their method of use, follow closely the Windows Explorer which is generally familiar to PC users. The user is thereby enabled to navigate through the entire project structure. Such a structure might, for example, be based on a quantitative structure required for the machine.